Apparatus for making thin floor plate and a thin floor plate

ABSTRACT

A method of making floor plate includes assembling a pair of casting rolls laterally disposed to form a nip, assembling a hot rolling mill downstream of the nip having work rolls with a surface pattern forming the negative of a raised slip-resistant pattern desired in a floor plate, introducing molten metal through at least one metal delivery nozzle to form a casting pool supported on the casting rolls above the nip; counter rotating the casting rolls to form shells on the casting surfaces of the casting rolls to cast metal strip of less than 2.2 mm thickness downwardly from the nip, and delivering the cast metal strip to and through the hot rolling mill to form by the negative of the slip-resistant pattern on the work rolls a raised slip-resistant pattern of between 0.3 and 0.7 mm in height in a floor plate of less than 1.7 mm thickness.

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/123,243 filed on Sep. 6, 2018 which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/963,305 filed on Dec. 9, 2015, nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,099,279, which claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/094,920 filed Dec. 19, 2014, which are allincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

This invention relates to the method for making thin quality floorplate.

Steel floor plates have a wide range of useful applications, including:construction, public and private walkways, ramps, and stair treads.Steel floor plates should be sturdy and rugged providing impactresistance and feature treading to prevent slips and falls. In the past,floor plates have been relatively thick with a relatively highslip-resistant pattern to inhibit slips by users trafficking the floorplates. The effort has been to make floor plates that are thinner (andin turn much less expensive) yet are sufficiently sturdy and moveableand provide a such raised slip-resistant pattern to be effective in use.

In a twin roll caster, molten metal is introduced between a pair ofcounter-rotated, internally cooled casting rolls so that metal shellssolidify on the moving roll surfaces, and are brought together at thenip between them to produce a solidified strip product, delivereddownwardly from the nip between the casting rolls. The term “nip” isused herein to refer to the general region at which the casting rollsare closest together. The molten metal, is poured from a ladle through ametal delivery system comprised of a tundish and a core nozzle locatedabove the nip to form a casting pool of molten metal, supported on thecasting surfaces of the rolls above the nip and extending along thelength of the nip. This casting pool is usually confined betweenrefractory side plates or dams held in sliding engagement with the endsurfaces of the rolls so as to dam the two ends of the casting poolagainst outflow.

Presently disclosed is a method for making floor plate comprising: (a)assembling a pair of casting rolls laterally disposed to form a nipbetween them with side dams at the end portions of the casting rollsadapted to maintain a molten metal pool supported above the nip by thecasting rolls; (b) assembling a hot rolling mill downstream of the niphaving work rolls with a pattern thereon forming the negative of araised slip-resistant pattern desired in a floor plate between 0.3 and0.7 mm in height; (c) introducing molten metal from a metal deliverysystem through at least one elongated metal delivery nozzle to form acasting pool supported on the casting rolls above the nip; (d) counterrotating the casting rolls to form shells on the casting surfaces of thecasting rolls brought together at the nip to cast metal strip of lessthan 2.2 mm thickness downwardly from the nip; and (e) delivering thecast metal strip to and through the hot rolling mill to form by thenegative of the slip-resistant pattern on the work rolls a raisedslip-resistant pattern of between 0.3 and 0.7 mm in height in a floorplate of less than 1.7 mm thickness. Further, the delivered cast metalstrip may be such as to provide floor plate greater than 0.7 or greaterthan 1.0 mm in thickness. The delivered cast metal strip may be siliconkilled such as to provide a floor plate with less than 0.008 aluminum.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatical side view of twin roll caster systememploying the present twin roll caster; and

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view through the casting rolls mounted ina roll cassette in the casting position of the caster system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A is a micrograph of the base material of a floor plate.

FIG. 3B is a micrograph of the lug of a floor plate.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a section of floor plate subjected to tensiletesting.

FIG. 5A is a side view of a floor plate subjected to a hem (zero ‘T’)bend.

FIG. 5B is an end view of a floor plate subjected to a greater than 90°bend.

FIG. 5C is an end view of a floor plate subjected to a 90° bend.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a twin roll caster system for continuouslycasting thin steel strip is comprised of a main machine frame 10 thatstands up from the factory floor and supports a roll cassette module 11with a pair of counter-rotatable casting rolls 12 mounted thereon. Thecasting rolls 12 have shaft portions (not shown) and casting surfaces12A laterally positioned to form a nip 18 there between. The castingrolls 12 are mounted on the roll cassette 11 for ease of operation andmovement of the casting rolls. The roll cassette facilitates movement ofthe casting rolls 12 ready for casting from a setup position to anoperative casting position in the caster as a unit, and ready removal ofthe casting rolls 12 from the casting position when the casting rollsare to be replaced. The roll cassette have a desired configuration toperform that functions of set up, movement and operation of the castingrolls in the casting position in the twin roll caster.

Molten metal is supplied from a ladle 13 through a metal deliverysystem, with a movable tundish 14 and a transition piece or distributor16. From the distributor 16, the molten metal is delivered to at leastone metal delivery nozzle 17, or core nozzle, positioned between thecasting rolls 12 above the nip 18. Molten metal discharged from thedelivery nozzle 17 forms casting pool 19 of molten metal above the nip18 supported on the casting surfaces 12A of the casting rolls 12. Thecasting pool 19 is confined on the casting rolls by side closures orside dams 20 (shown in dotted line in FIG. 2) positioned against theends of the casting rolls 12. The upper surface of the casting pool 19(generally referred to as the “meniscus” level) generally rises abovethe lower portions of delivery nozzle 17 so that the lower part of thedelivery nozzle 17 is immersed in the casting pool 19. The casting areaabove the casting pool 19 provides a protective atmosphere to inhibitoxidation of the molten metal in the casting pool.

The ladle 13 typically is of a conventional construction supported on arotating turret 40. For metal delivery, the ladle 13 is positioned abovea movable tundish 14 positioned adjacent the casting area to fill thetundish with molten metal. The movable tundish 14 may be positioned on atundish car 66 capable of transferring the tundish from a heatingstation (not shown), where the tundish is heated to near a castingtemperature, to the casting position. A tundish guide, such as rails,may be positioned beneath the tundish car 66 to enable moving themovable tundish 14 from the heating station to the casting position.

The movable tundish 14 may be fitted with a slide gate 25, actuable by aservo mechanism, to allow molten metal to flow from the tundish 14through the slide gate 25, and then through a refractory outlet shroud15 to a transition piece or distributor 16 in the casting position. Fromthe distributor 16, the molten metal flows to the delivery nozzle 17positioned between the casting rolls 12 above the nip 18.

The casting rolls 12 are internally water cooled and the casting rolls12 are counter-rotated to solidify metal shells on the casting surfaces12A as the casting surfaces 12A move into and through the casting pool19 with each revolution of the casting rolls 12. The shells formed onthe casting surfaces 12A are brought together at the nip 18 between thecasting rolls 12 to form a solidified thin cast strip product 21delivered downwardly from the nip 18.

FIG. 1 shows the twin roll caster producing thin cast strip 21, whichpasses across a guide table 30 to a pinch roll stand 31, comprisingpinch rolls 31A. Upon exiting the pinch roll stand 31, the thin caststrip pass through a hot rolling mill 32, comprising a pair of workrolls 32A with backup rolls 32B, forming a gap adapted to hot roll thecast strip delivered from the casting rolls, where the cast strip isreduced to a desired thickness, and improve the strip surface and thestrip flatness. The work surfaces of the work rolls 32A have negativepatterns of the desired slip-resistant pattern on the floor plates to beproduced. The hot rolled cast strip then passes onto a run-out table 33,where it may be cooled by contact with a coolant, such as water,supplied via water jets 90 or other suitable means, and/or by convectionand radiation. In any event, the hot rolled cast strip may then passthrough a second pinch roll stand 91 having rollers 91A to providetension on the cast strip, and then to a coiler 92.

At the start of the casting campaign, a short length of imperfect stripis typically produced as casting conditions stabilize. After continuouscasting is established, the casting rolls are moved apart slightly andthen brought together again to cause the leading end of the cast stripto break away forming a clean head end of the cast strip to follow. Theimperfect material drops into a scrap receptacle 26, which is movable ona scrap receptacle guide. The scrap receptacle 26 is located in a scrapreceiving position beneath the caster and forms part of a sealedenclosure 27 as described below. The enclosure 27 is typically watercooled. During casting, water-cooled apron 28 normally hangs downwardlyfrom a pivot 29 to one side in the enclosure 27 and is swung intoposition to guide the clean end of the cast strip 21 onto the guidetable 30 and feed the strip to the pinch roll stand 31. The apron 28 isthen retracted back to its hanging position to cause the cast strip 21to hang in a loop beneath the casting rolls in enclosure 27 before itpasses onto the guide table 30 where it engages a succession of guiderollers.

An overflow container 38 may be provided beneath the movable tundish 14to receive molten material that may spill from the tundish. As shown inFIG. 1, the overflow container 38 may be movable on rails 39 or anotherguide such that the overflow container 38 is placed beneath the movabletundish 14 as desired in casting locations. Additionally, an overflowcontainer (not shown) may be provided adjacent the distributor 16.

The sealed enclosure 27 is formed by a number of separate wall sectionsthat assembled together with sealed connections to form a continuousenclosure wall that permits control of the atmosphere within theenclosure during casting. Additionally, the scrap receptacle 26 may becapable of attaching to the enclosure 27 so that the enclosure toprovide a protective atmosphere immediately beneath the casting rolls 12in the casting position. The enclosure 27 includes an opening in thelower portion of the enclosure, lower enclosure portion 44, providing anoutlet for scrap to pass from the enclosure 27 into the scrap receptacle26 in the scrap receiving position. The lower enclosure portion 44 mayextend downwardly as a part of the enclosure 27, the opening beingpositioned above the scrap receptacle 26 in the scrap receivingposition. As used in the specification and claims herein, “seal,”“sealed,” “sealing,” and “sealingly” in reference to the scrapreceptacle 26, enclosure 27, and related features may not be a completeseal so as to prevent leakage, but rather is usually provides less thanperfect seal to allow control and support of the atmosphere within theenclosure as desired with some tolerable leakage.

A rim portion 45 may surround the opening of the lower enclosure portion44 and may be movably positioned above the scrap receptacle, capable ofsealingly engaging and/or attaching to the scrap receptacle 26 in thescrap receiving position. The rim portion 45 may be movable between asealing position in which the rim portion engages the scrap receptacle,and a clearance position in which the rim portion 45 is disengaged fromthe scrap receptacle. Additionally, the caster or the scrap receptaclemay include a lifting mechanism to raise the scrap receptacle intosealing engagement with the rim portion 45 of the enclosure, and thenlower the scrap receptacle into the clearance position. When sealed, theenclosure 27 and scrap receptacle 26 are filled with a desired gas, suchas nitrogen, to reduce the amount of oxygen in the enclosure togenerally less than 5% and provide a protective atmosphere duringcasting of strip.

The enclosure 27 may include an upper collar portion supporting aprotective atmosphere immediately beneath the casting rolls in thecasting position. When the casting rolls 12 are in the casting position,the upper collar portion 27A is moved to the extended position closingthe space between a housing portion adjacent the casting rolls 12, asshown in FIG. 2, and the enclosure 27. The upper collar portion may beprovided within or adjacent the enclosure 27 and adjacent the castingrolls, and may be moved by a plurality of actuators (not shown) such asservo-mechanisms, hydraulic mechanisms, pneumatic mechanisms, androtating actuators.

A method for making floor plate may comprise the following steps: (a)assembling a pair of casting rolls laterally disposed to form a nipbetween with side dams at the ends of the casting rolls to maintain amolten metal pool supported above the nip by the casting rolls; (b)assembling a hot rolling mill downstream of the nip having work rollswith a pattern thereon forming the negative of a raised slip-resistantpattern desired in a floor plate between 0.3 and 0.7 mm in height; (c)introducing molten metal from a metal delivery system through anelongated metal delivery nozzle to form a casting pool supported on thecasting rolls above the nip; (d) counter rotating the casting rolls soas to form shells on the casting surfaces of the casting rolls broughttogether at the nip to cast metal strip of preferably less than 2.2 mmthickness downwardly from the nip; and (e) delivering the cast metalstrip to and through the hot rolling mill to form by the negative on thework rolls of the slip-resistant pattern desired in the floor platebetween 0.3 and 0.7 mm of less than 1.7 mm thickness. Further, thedelivered cast metal strip may be such as to provide floor plate greaterthan 0.7 or greater the 1.0 mm in thickness. The delivered cast metalstrip may be silicon killed such as to provide a floor plate with lessthan 0.008 aluminum. Further the floor plate of the current disclosuremay contain a total oxygen content of greater than 50 ppm.

The slip resistant pattern form in the floor plate may be ASTMA786M-2004, pattern 4. ASTM A786M covers carbon high-strength,low-alloyed and alloyed steel plate intended for flooring, stairs,transport equipment and other purposes. Steel plate under ASTM A786Mshall be manufactured lenticular-riffled. ASTM A786 Steel Floor Platehas a raised diamond lug pattern that provides excellent skid resistancefor a wide range of applications commonly used in stairs, walkways,ramps and entrances where ‘rough’ or ‘high-wear’ surfaces are preferred.A786 floor plate is available as 4-Way patterned plates, which providemaximum skid resistance with an easy to clean surface. A786 4-Way floorplates may be used for safety flooring on docks, ramps, mezzanines,stair treads catwalks, trench covers, walkways, ornamental projects andother surfaces that require skid resistance with an easy to cleansurface.

The floor plate may have a density between 2.0 and 2.2 lbs./ft.². Inother embodiments, the floor plate may have a density of between 2.5 and2.7 lbs./ft.².

There is shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B micrographs of base material and lugsof a floor plate taken on longitudinal/transverse directions for platesof 0.043 inches and 0.061 inches in thickness.

Tensile testing was done on a series of floor plates for a range ofdiffering base thicknesses ranging from 0.042 to 0.066 inches. Theresulting tensile properties are represented in the table below:

Hardness % Heat Direction Thickness Top Bottom Tensile Elongation Yield429582-1 trans 0.0661 62 67 59.618 21.057 40.471 429582-2 trans 0.062361 66 59.491 20.767 40.496 429582-3 trans 0.0612 62 65 59.306 17.94441.068 429582-7 trans 0.0423 59 48 57.208 15.754 39.285 429586-2 trans0.0461 56 37 50.037 16.085 34.564 429586-3 trans 0.0434 60 58 61.47415.108 43.988 429586-5 trans 0.0544 61 70 58.31 20.091 42.013 429586-6trans 0.0561 53 55 57.449 20.14 39.525 429586-6 long 0.0604 62 55 54.33320.467 36.276 429586-8 trans 0.0508 56 56 58.024 15.968 41.032 429586-8long 0.0491 60 55 57.851 14.882 40.168

There is shown in FIG. 4 an exemplary section of floor plate subjectedto tensile testing, where two necking regions, 1 and 2, are seen, ascompared to a flat cast strip without lugs, which generally forms onenecking region under tensile testing. It is believed that the lugsprovide for uneven strain across the testing area and allow for multiplenecking regions.

There is shown in FIG. 5A a floor plate subjected to a hem (zero ‘T’)bend.

There is shown in FIG. 5B a floor plate subjected to a greater than 90°bend.

There is shown in FIG. 5C a floor plate subjected to a 90° bend.

FIGS. 5A,5B and 5C demonstrate that the floor plate of the presentdisclosure exhibits excellent ductility.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in theforegoing drawings and description, the same is to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood thatonly illustrative embodiments thereof have been shown and described, andthat all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of theinvention described by the following claims are desired to be protected.Additional features of the invention will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art upon consideration of the description. Modificationsmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

1-7. (canceled)
 8. A hot rolling mill comprising: a single pair of workrolls, one work roll of the pair of work rolls including a surfacepattern forming a negative of a raised slip resistant pattern desired ina floor plate between 0.3 and 0.7 mm in height and wherein the singlepair of work rolls delivers a floor plate having a thickness of lessthan 1.7 mm.
 9. The hot rolling mill of claim 8, where the deliveredfloor plate is greater than 0.7 mm in thickness.
 10. The hot rollingmill of claim 8, where the delivered floor plate is greater than 1.0 mmin thickness.
 11. The hot rolling mill of claim 8, where the deliveredfloor plate has a slip resistant pattern formed as specified in ASTMA786M-2004, pattern
 4. 12. The hot rolling mill of claim 9, where thedelivered floor plate has a slip resistant pattern formed as specifiedin ASTM A786M-2004, pattern
 4. 13. The hot rolling mill of claim 10,where the delivered floor plate has a slip resistant pattern formed asspecified in ASTM A786M-2004, pattern
 4. 14. A hot rolling millcomprising: a pair of work rolls, one work roll of the pair of workrolls including a surface pattern forming a negative of a raised slipresistant pattern desired in a floor plate between 0.3 and 0.7 mm inheight and wherein the single pair of work rolls delivers a floor platehaving a thickness of less than 1.7 mm; wherein the pair of work rollsare arranged between only two additional pairs of pinch rolls forming afirst and second pair of pinch rolls such that a cast metal strip isdirected from a nip directly to the first pair of pinch rolls, directlythereafter to the pair of work rolls, and directly thereafter to thesecond pair of pinch rolls.
 15. A thin cast metal strip comprising: athickness of less than 1.7 mm and a raised slip resistant patterndesired in a floor plate between 0.3 and 0.7 mm in height formed by asingle hot rolling mill having a single pair of work rolls where onework roll of the pair of work rolls includes a surface pattern that is anegative of the raised slip-resistant pattern.
 16. The thin cast metalstrip of claim 15 wherein the thickness is greater than 0.7 mm.
 17. Thethin cast metal strip of claim 15 wherein the thickness is greater than1.0 mm.
 18. The thin cast metal strip of claim 15 wherein the raisedslip resistant pattern is formed as specified in ASTM A786M-2004,pattern
 4. 19. The thin cast metal strip of claim 16 wherein the raisedslip resistant pattern is formed as specified in ASTM A786M-2004,pattern
 4. 20. The thin cast metal strip of claim 17 wherein the raisedslip resistant pattern is formed as specified in ASTM A786M-2004,pattern
 4. 21. The thin cast metal strip of claim 15 that is coiled.